I was taught at seminary that my role was to do myself out of a job. The great temptation of the pastor is to hoard ministry, and so I must delegate, clear out the desk, equip the rest of the church for ministry, and then my job is done. Move on. There are at least
It was one of the foundational insights of the Reformers – the priesthood of all believers. No more priestly caste, because we confess our sins to “The Reverend One-Another” They even did away with the very word. ‘Presbyter’, or ‘elder’ was preferred, and the anchor point of their work was teaching. But because we are
Because, as someone said today, it’s like doing open-heart surgery, on yourself, without an anaesthetic, in public. Or at least it should be. Think it through: What’s the opposite of each part of that description? How does this Sunday’s sermon shape up? H/t. Trevor Johnston, from the mission society, Crosslinks.
Jesus doesn’t say, “I know you’re and harassed and helpless, but that’s a distraction – you need me.” He says, “I know you’re harassed and helpless – that’s because you don’t know me.”
I’ll keep you posted as I’ll be doing a giveaway.
Neil Postman’s brilliant little book ‘Entertaining ourselves to death’ first alerted a generation to the dangers of trivialisation and superficiality that the popular media were forcing on us. Years on, the problem is seemingly worse. And there are consistent warnings from some of our best Christian thinkers, that as preachers tread down the path of
“It’s everybody, I mean. Everything everybody does is so — I don’t know — not wrong, or even mean, or even stupid necessarily. But just so tiny and meaningless and — sad-making. And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something crazy like that, you’re conforming just as much only in a different
As I’ve thought about the books I’ve read over the past year, one stands out as being remarkable for its depth and relevance. It has a shrewd understanding of what it means to be a Christian and a church living increasingly on the edge of society. And its author understands the temptations we face, whether
I mean, why doesn’t the government do something about it? Half the population has below average IQ. Half the population has a below average reading age. Half the population has a below average attention span. Half the population is below average! But there’s a serious point behind the malarkey. What’s the average IQ? By definition,
One time, I decided to cook a surprise meal for my family. I cook for them fairly often, so Dad in the kitchen wasn’t the surprise. The key is, because it was to be a surprise, I didn’t check that I was doing the right meal. Steak was in the fridge – lots of it,
The fatal slip happens so easily. We move from loving ministry because we love the Lord Jesus, to thinking that the Lord Jesus loves us because we love ministry, his people, his church. And before you know it, we are in the forsaken place where we teach grace to others, but preach and practice works
I’m excited to announce you can now pre-order The Bible Speaks Today, The Church, at discount! Open this post by clicking on the title, and then click here It’s also on Amazon, ISBN: 9781844748785 US readers can pre-order on Amazon.com, or wait for US publication in February 2014
One of my heroes and gurus is Dick Lucas – man who has done one thing supremely well for decades: he opens up the Bible and shows us what is in it. Simple. When he was young, Dick loved those little metal puzzles, where two or three wire shapes interlock, and only the most patient
I should have warned her, really. A friend of mine has just published her first book, and she is understandably quite excited. A parcel of copies arrived from her publisher, and she’s checked that it’s there on Amazon too. She’s nervous, but excited. But then she said, “Actually, I’m a bit disappointed too, because I
After 33 years as their pastor, John Piper preached his farewell sermon on Easter Sunday at Bethlehem Baptist.http://t.co/KH42MuUnFy/
Ever since I was an undergraduate I’ve had on my shelves Don Carson’s survey of New Testament commentaries. It’s his notes on every commentary and series that he’s read (a lot), with best buys marked up. It’s gone through various editions, been joined by Tremper Longman’s OT survey, and later this year will have its
Open this post and click on the link. Vimeo here
I first noticed it in Malcolm Gladwell’s clever little book Outliers. In almost every area of human creativity and endeavour, when you come across an overnight success story, you can bet that behind it lies hours of practice. Hours. 10,000 of them to be exact. Gladwell charts it in music, writing, the sciences – there’s
Good question. True question. A small church with around twenty members is in a depressed part of town. Money is tight all round – the pastor is paid for by a generous denomination, weekly giving is around £25, and they have around £1000 in the bank. Most of the members are not tax payers. Years
People come to church for a lift. An encouragement. Maybe a challenge. They don’t want trouble. And those of us who stand behind the lectern agree with them. We’ll give them their lift and maybe their challenge. But we don’t like trouble either. So we conspire together to avoid certain subjects. Which isn’t healthy It’s
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